Rebuilding A Family
by Theravinggamer
Summary: Asta was orphaned at Hage Village's orphanage. This much is set in stone, but as no one knows the circumstances of how he got there, what if he was taken from a family? A family that was ready to adore him and raise him right. A family, not from Clover, not from Diamond, but from Spade. And now they have a chance to be together again, and rebuild a broken family.


How many times had this nightmare plagued her? The same crashing sound, the pain, and the panicked cries of her parents as a sleeping infant was taken away. A sliver of sunlight through the massive window of her room woke the woman up, she let out a very quiet yawn and stepped out of her bed. A seemingly never-worn military uniform, that's what she would always wear. Various medals adorning it as she needed something to signify her status.

The dark blue uniform went on, gold stripes on the shoulders with red trimming. With an almost mechanical precision, she tied up her long blonde hair into a ponytail, and stepped outside.

"Good morning, general," a servant said, a pot of hot coffee and a plate with two scones waiting for the woman. She nodded, her face full of indifference and a lack of emotion as she took both a drink and a scone and began her morning routine.

"My appointments?" She requested after finishing the scone and starting on her coffee. The servant grabbed a sheet of paper and starting to read it off.

"After breakfast, you have a morning address of your battalion," she started, the general nodding and finishing her second scone, "Then a meeting with the king before your mandatory half day off for this quarter."

"I see. You are dismissed," she said calmly, grabbing one last cup of coffee before the servant bowed and left. Addressing her battalion was nothing new, simply go on about glory for the king and the kingdom, and point out the problem soldiers. This one took less time, their training had been going well, and everything was in order. Admittedly, she wanted to hurry through her work for her brief time off.

"For the glory of the Spade Kingdom!" she shouted, putting her right hand on her left shoulder, their countries salute. Her battalion mimicking her before walking off as she had trained them. She let out another sigh as she rushed off to her meeting. While she would be early, keeping her ruler waiting was never a good idea.

"General Light," an almost jovial voice said as the doors were opened to the meeting hall. The king and one of her fellow generals greeting her. "Early as usual, I see?"

"I am simply wanting to ensure his highness does not wait for this meeting." She said bluntly, the other general's smile going away and being replaced with an annoyed grimace. "Now, I shall wait and we shall begin when everyone has arrived."

"Agreed," the other general said, taking his place at the large meeting table. Every general eventually arrived, with more than enough time to spare and sitting, facing the king.

"Now then," the old man said, the king stroking his beard thoughtfully. "As our scouts have reported, there was an incident in the Clover Kingdom a week ago." the generals nodding in response. Even with the distance and fog separating the two hostile kingdoms, the pillars of light had been visible from a great distance.

"As with all the reports from each of your battalions, the kingdoms defences are recovering from whatever went on." the king continued, stopping to take a drink of water for a moment. "As such, now would be an ideal time to strike with their defences scattered and fractured."

The generals all shared a moment of agreement, even starting to discuss strategies before the blonde woman stood up.

"Yes, General Light?" another of the generals said, the room now focused on the youngest member. "Do you have an objection?"

"Not fully," she said, the woman keeping her face as emotionless as possible. "I simply have a suggestion."

"And that is?" the king said, a few other generals catching a bit of amusement in his tone.

"A possibility to destroy their entire chain of command," she said, the generals now looking at her with rapt attention. "Sending in a general during the chaos and using them to deal with their military command structure while they're recovering would allow for an almost riskless invasion of our enemies."

Even the members of the Spade Kingdom's command structure who disliked their youngest general had to admit the possibility of this plan working would allow for a wonderful opportunity.

For General Light, she had to be careful. She had been waiting for a chance to suggest this plan, but needed to hope that everything would fall into place. Had she made enough enemies in the command chain with her quick rise to power? Would they be willing to use her absence to create a vacuum and then squabble over who gets command of who?

"That plan… While it would take longer, it would be more effective." the king said, some generals murmuring in agreement. "Then, General Light, who would you suggest to carry out this proposed plan of yours?"

"It must be someone agreed upon by everyone in this room," she said bluntly, a few members who were not fond of her slowly getting grins. "Naturally, I will volunteer myself, but the decision is up to you."

The discussion started, it wasn't unknown to anyone in this room that she was not popular among certain groups of the command or leadership of the country. She could count on her enemies to try to get rid of her, easily. It was her few allies that were causing the problem in her mind.

First, the King himself. Overjoyed at how young the next generation of generals was, he happily supported her military power. If he didn't agree to this, then her hope would be crushed. Along with him were older generals, ones who had grown up on the stories of the bearer of the crystal grimoire. They had built her up for the country as a legendary hero in the making, she couldn't leave the command center or palace without propaganda about her being the next legend of Spade.

"I for one agree with sending General Light," one of the other generals started to say, the discussion now coming to an end. More of the room agreed with that sentiment, getting the general to almost crack a smile.

"I am against it," The king said, the room sighing internally. "She is a national treasure with her skill and power! Sending her off for who knows how long would affect the morale of the kingdom!"

"With all due respect, your Majesty." she said, the room now focused on the two of them. "The glory that we could bring to Spade with my plan would overshadow any time spent away from our glorious homeland."

"The legends and stories clearly state that you will bring glory to us!" the King almost yelled, just managing to keep the sudden emotions from bursting out. "You leaving on such a mission could not bring as much glory as staying here!"

"Your Majesty," she said calmly, the king looking at her with such a serious expression it felt like he would have a heart attack. "I would cause such a change in our kingdom that everyone in this room would go down in history for the right decision."

That did it, the king's demeanor changed back to calm and happier. The idea of being the king who would go down in history for this decision was clearly tantalizing.

"...Then are we all in agreement?" he said after a moment, every person in the room standing and saluting their king.

"Yes, your majesty!" they all said, the king smiling.

"Then, General Rebecca Light, I hereby grant you permission to enact your plan." the King said, Rebecca giving a rare smile before saluting once more.

"I will leave tonight," she said, the room murmuring in agreement. "I shall use the rest of today to prepare." With that, the meeting was adjourned, Rebecca calmly walking to her quarters and making sure to lock the door behind her. She only needed one thing from her quarters, drawing the blinds shut, she walked over to her bed. Shecarefully lifted the mattress and removed a seemingly sturdy panel to reveal a small treasure chest, roughly the size of her hand.

'Open,' she thought, letting her mana work its way into the box, a minute passed until the lock audibly clicked and opened. Inside was a small locket, roughly one a child would've worn, and a journal. Despite the age, both items were immaculate, she gently picked them both up, and made room in one of her uniform's pockets.

'That is everything I need from here,' she thought to herself as she carefully rearranged her bed to make it look normal. She grabbed some things that were, to her, not required for her mission. A communication device to make an emergency report if something went wrong, a travel version of her military outfit, and a second blank journal to 'Keep track of information,' and a medal, her first to be precise. Sentimentality and all that rot.

She left, heading towards a supply area to grab some necessities. A kettle for boiling water, flint and steel for making a non-magical fire, a sleeping roll, a change of standard civilian clothes, and a few water canteens to make it look like she would be just a regular traveller. The sun was now just past its peak, Rebecca smiling to herself as she grabbed a broom and flew off towards her last stop.

The house was so much smaller every time she visited, but it was the safest place in the kingdom to her. A light knock was all it took before slow footsteps approached the door and opened it. A man, who to someone who didn't know him would think he was easily in his sixties, opened the door and smiled.

"Well, General," he said, Rebecca giving a slightly content sigh in response. "Is this for business or personal matters?"

"Father, you know it's always personal." she laughed, the man stepping aside and letting her enter the small house. "Fresh bread?" she said, taking a deep breath and revelling in the scent of her childhood home.

"Of course," he said, the man walking towards the kitchen with his daughter. His clothes seemed to help the perception he was older than he appeared. "I had a feeling it was your day off and wanted to prepare something for my oldest child."

She paused, her father giving her a solemn look. "He's still alive, I can feel it." he said, the warmth of the house quickly fading. "And so is… well…"

"I agree, Father," Rebecca responded after a moment, just to catch her breath. "Both mother and Asta are alive, and now I can go and search for them."

Her father looked like he grew younger by about twenty years at that sentence alone. His eyes wide as he looked at Rebecca with a mixture of hope and heartbreak. "You… managed to find a way to leave?"

"Yes," she said, helping her father to the kitchen and sitting down with him at the table. "With that mysterious light phenomenon from a week ago, I am going to be deployed on espionage to the Clover Kingdom. If he's there, I will find Asta, and then I will find Mother."

"Then you'll need more than just my bread to get you through this," he laughed, trying to fight back tears. "Stay for dinner, if you can that is."

"That was the plan," Rebecca said, her father smiling and immediately handing her a fresh loaf of bread and a knife. The general slowly cut into the loaf, savouring the sweet taste of fresh bread. "I will leave sometime in the dead of night, the command chain will say I have come down with a sickness to keep my lack of presence here to a reasonable level."

"Good," her father responded, grabbing a slab of meat from a tiny storage container and setting himself to work, using his water magic to precisely dice the meat before setting it in a cast iron frying pan and grabbing various seasonings. Then came the vegetables, the same process before adding them to the now sizzling mix of meat and seasonings. "First, a hearty meal to send you off, then making some preserves."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Rebecca said happily, taking another slice of bread and once again savouring the loaf. The smell bringing her back to years long past, where this tiny house would've had two other people happily waiting for a delicious meal. A deep breath before she stood up and walked towards the interior of the house.

"Father... " she started, the man still cooking.

"Yes, you can go up to his old room," he said, giving his daughter a smile. "Take anything you feel would be important to you from there."

"Thank you," she said, a lump forming in her throat as she climbed the single set of stairs in the house and approached the room at the end of the hall. A small wood carving on the door, made the lump grow.

"Аста Цинния Лайт," is what it said, the general slowly opening the door and seeing the room in an immaculate state. Toys were cleaned, the small pairs of baby shoes were aligned at the base of a drawer. There was a family picture on a small table next to a crib that had been occupied for far too short a time.

She sighed, and took a moment to stand in the room. The dream coming back every time she stepped foot in this room. A sudden storm, a broken window, and a searing pain in her face. The day her family started to fall apart was permanently burned into her mind, and had become an obsession. She shook her head, and reached for something next to the photo. A small handmade plaque with a shining star carved into it and the family creed underneath it.

"Свет сохраняется даже в самые темные ночи" it read, roughly translating to "Light persists in even the darkest of nights." It had become a comfort to Rebecca, to repeat it in the darker moments of her life to keep herself on the path she wanted. She paused, and carefully put the plaque inside her coat next to the journal.

"This is his," she muttered, double checking that it was secure. "He deserves to have part of his family with him." The smell of her father's cooking was now completely engulfing the small house, Rebecca sighing and stepping out of the old room. Down the stairs she went, the smell getting stronger with each step as she approached the kitchen.

"Looks like your nose for my cooking is just as strong as ever," her father teased, the General letting out a slight chuckle and sitting down at her share of the dinner.

"It's far better than anything they prepare at the castle," she said, waiting for the man to dish himself out before eating. "And practically the food of gods compared to rations."

"Really?" the man said, fighting back a fit of laughter. "All those chefs and they can't beat my meat dish?" Rebcca laughed with him and almost missed that he had prepared more than enough food for the two of them.

"There's no love in their cooking," she said, a bowl of meat in gravy with seared vegetables being put in front of her.

"No, no I would think not." her father said, trying and failing to hide a melancholic hint to his words. He frowned, and sighed. "I made too much again."

"More for me to take then," Rebecca continued, her father giving her a smile before sitting down and starting to eat. It was a quiet meal, the surefire sign of something being delicious. They sat in silence afterwards, both parent and child contemplating the next move.

"You're sure he's in Clover?" the parent said, Rebecca catching a glint of something in his eyes. The general nodded, getting a tired smile in response.

"I am," she said, pulling out her old notebook and flipping to a page near the beginning. "With intelligence that was gathered I can say for certain that he's there."

"I hope for both our sakes he is," the man said, taking a deep breath. "And… what, exactly, is you plan when you find him?"  
It was Rebecca's turn to take a breath, and then another. "I… Want to be with him like we were all supposed too." she said, looking down at the empty dish in front of her. "I want to find him, find mother and bring you to us as well. I want us all to be together, like it was supposed to be."

It happened in a flash, her father stood up and with a speed Rebecca wasn't used too, lifted her out of her seat and gave her an incredibly strong hug. It took her a moment to react, before hugging back.

"If anyone can do it, it's you, my daughter." the man said, letting her go. The rest of that afternoon was quiet, Rebecca taking extra supplies such as cookware and using her magic to freeze the leftover food as part of her rations. Her father made sure to include a blanket, a soft quilt that was perfect for a cold night.

She was ready, leaving with one last hug before opening the door and stepping out. 'I'm coming Asta,' she thought, setting out towards the massive treeline separating the kingdoms. This was her goal for the last fifteen years of her life, and damned be anyone who would try to stop her.


End file.
